The Impact of Tanzania's New Land Laws on the Customary Land Rights of Pastoralists

Book excerpt: This book investigates the effects of the 1999 Tanzanian land legislation on customary land tenure, particularly that of pastoralists. It is an original, empirical and theoretical critical study of the laws and their implementation in securing land tenure of customary landholders in the face of the changing social-political structures, and as such constitutes a contribution to the current debate about the future of customary landholders in the reformed Tanzanian economy. Among issues that receive particular attention in this study are: the development of pastoral land tenure, the main features of the new land laws, introduced land schemes for pastoralists, land dispute mechanisms, the certification of village lands, investments on village land, the inclusion of unused or unoccupied village lands into the category of general land, women's land rights and villager participation in the administration and management of village lands.